Zach's and Arthur easily bypassed the guards and that was when Zach remembered something about Ingrid's brother.
Ingrid had mentioned the name of his brother during his encounter... what was his name again? Zach pondered.
He only needed one powerhouse for the assignment, and Arthur was the perfect pick.
The academy wasn't particularly far from the outskirts, just a meter ahead.
"You're still injured... you can rest, you know." Arthur stated.
Zach shook his head. "You're going because of my request... can't just leave you there."
Arthur shrugged. "Suit yourself..."
Soon enough, both descended into the Oasis.
*****
Beatrice's POV
Beatrice was astonished when Zach came to meet her in the reception, but didn't show it on her face because that was who she was.
And when he started spouting bullshit about dying on this mission, part of her actually wanted to listen, but her pride didn't.
As Eve walked with Beatrice to the Oasis outskirts, Beatrice was on edge. "What if we do see something quite gruesome?" she thought.
But it was too late to turn back now, and besides, Zach had always been crazy from day one, so it wouldn't be a surprise if all he said was just to talk to her.
Beatrice sighed. "It's better not to dwell on it." She turned to the side and saw Eve striding behind her.
"You're right."
The duo arrived at the wooden bridge and descended as usual.
They reached the specified hunting area. Bones of different creatures were littered all over the hunting area, but that was normal; probably some other gold-rank troop cleared out this area.
They began hunting as usual. Beatrice brandished her blade, slicing a worm monster in the belly; its insides came pouring out.
She moved with precision and calculation, decapitating monsters on the sandy shore.
Because Persia was an island kingdom, the only threats were sea monsters.
She decapitated two more monsters in quick succession, twirling around and ramming her blade into a serpent's skull.
The monsters were coming, but there wasn't an astronomical number of them.
Eve moved with grace too, killing monsters in the distance like a professional butcher.
Her dual daggers became cutting tools, capable of leaving terrifying wounds on the monsters' bodies.
The two seemed to be pretty skilled in dispatching the bodies.
A lindworm roared before collapsing in a puddle of its own blood; Beatrice stood above it, shoving the bloodstone in her mouth.
The sandy shores lay barren; only the sight of dead monsters and the soothing sounds of vibrant greenery echoed behind them.
Then... "Help!" Beatrice heard a guard's voice.
She turned in the direction and found a scrawny guard bolting towards them in full speed.
The guard kneeled in front of them, tears streaming from his eyes, full of horror.
"They're here." He panicked.
"Who's here?" Eve walked forward.
Beatrice was confused, but Zach's words echoed in her head for some reason.
"What exactly are you talking about?" She asked.
The guard breathed heavily. "It's them, the demons."
"What? Demons?" Then it emerged from the distant lush forest.
"Come on! Come on! You can't hide from me forever..." The beast let out a voice that sounded like gravel scraping against metal; its lips curled into a maniacal grin.
"No... no... you demon!" The guard hiding behind Beatrice yelled, his face filled with terror.
"Oh, come on..." The beast groaned as it walked closer.
The beast's black scales shifted with every clout, gleaming under the beaming sun; its long arms ended with serrated talons that gleamed purple under the pale sunlight.
Its eyes gleamed with purple. The beast carried an aura of bloodlust enough to make any resolved warrior lose strength in their limbs.
Beatrice stared at the monster, fear etched in her stomach, but her face showed resolve.
Then Zach's words played in her mind yet again. 'How did he know?' How truly did Zach know there was going to be a dangerous encounter? Was he actually a seer class?
"Go call for reinforcements." Beatrice ordered the guard.
The guard bolted towards the opposite direction with all his might.
"Run, little spark... run faster... make me chase." The creature crouched and blasted off its position, and in the next second, the guard's head was sent spinning through the air in a bloody mist.
The Thyxar stood over the guard's dead body, blood on its hands; it poked out its reptilian tongue, licking the blood off.
"Mmmhmm." Eli and Eve were awestruck and terrified.
"That fast." The monster turned to look at the duo.
"Oh, what do we have here?" Its smile widened.
Beatrice braced herself for whatever battle was about to ensue, but an argument broke the tension.
"Ha! I told you a Thyxar would be here." Zach pointed his fingers at Arthur, who was resting his back on a nearby palm with an unreadable expression on his face.
"How did it get past the fleet defense?" Arthur groaned. "Must be a rogue."
The monster's black-scaled face twisted in confusion. "Who are those ones?" He pondered.
Those two gave off an entirely different aura, one of power and sheer relevance.
The Thyxar turned to face Zach, who sat down on the thick sand, resting his back on a bark of a tree.
"You..." Zach sighed. "Look, big guy, I'm actually kind of recovering from an injury, so I can't beat you right now."
Zach paused. "But I just can't let you kill them." He gestured towards the duo.
"So, guess what?" Zach grinned. "I brought a friend."
Arthur walked forward, unsheathing his sword.
"Let's just get this over with."
*****
Zach's POV
Zach had been trying to figure out how the Thyxars made it this far.
Because firstly, the first rogue unit came about a month ago when Ingrid was sent to dispatch the threat.
It had only been a month, and coincidentally, another rogue unit just so happened to show up here again.
Zach could feel it; something bigger was coming, and this trial was going to push him to his absolute limits.